A Simple Game of Hide-and-Seek
by TriciaOakenshield
Summary: A game of Hide-and-Seek in the house at Laketown. First Chapter up. Will need a prompt to continue. I have no idea where this is going. (No slash yet, but I will take prompts for that too.) (Rating may go up, depending on future content.)


A Simple Game of Hide and Seek

Bilbo sniffled softly as he crept down the hallway. The house that the Master of Laketown had given them was large - three stories actually - and there were many hallways, corridors and storage rooms to be explored, aside from the kitchens (yes, two of them), dining rooms (three of these), and the uncountable number of bedrooms. Not that there were truly that many, but several of them had passages or doors to other rooms, and there were some bedrooms in the basement (which could count as a fourth floor if I wanted it to) that had been altogether un-explored; thus limiting the ability of whoever was bored enough to count them - not that anyone was of course, there were several means of keeping oneself occupied in this place.

In fact - at that moment, Fili, Kili, Ori, Bifur and Bofur were playing 'Hide and Seek' with Bilbo as the Seeker. (Kili's idea, you see.) Bilbo had already found Bifur standing behind one of the potted plants, quite contentedly munching on the green leaves, and apparently forgetting to hide, therefore forsaking the game altogether. The other, less demented Dwarves had thus far evaded their Hobbit friend. He had already been through the first and second floors, checking every nook and cranny for stray boot-tips or perhaps the end of a hat or cloak. So far, he had concluded that they were either in the third floor (part of which was an attic) or the basement.

Bilbo snuffed again; his cold was not helping the stealthiness of this operation one bit. Again he had to remind himself that: had he not risked the episode with the barrels, instead of searching for his friends inside a warm house in merry Laketown, he would probably still be searching for a way of escape from the Mirkwood Elves. The Hobbit highly preferred food and comfort - even if it did occasionally come with mischievous Dwarves who seemed to think that he had nothing better to do than chase them around a house that felt as if it had no end.

Sighing, he began to ascend the staircase that led to the third floor. Not one board creaked under his soft, padded feet as he silently navigated the winding labyrinth. Two separate staircases split from the first on either side, rather like hallways, each extending to a different side of the building.

Why anyone would even _want _a building so large was beyond the Hobbit. It seemed quite unnecessary to have so much space just sitting around, doing nothing. In the Hobbit-holes he was accustomed to, every inch of space was put to good use; quite practical. The poor Hobbit would never understand the ways of Men - or any other race for that matter.

He poked his head into the main hall of the third floor; it was empty now. The large open space covered nearly a third of the entire level; a long table lined the wall to the left, with nearly enough chairs to seat their whole company. Along the far wall there were many doors, most of them leading to bedrooms. Altogether there were seven: The first was Bilbo's room; the second and third were combined to make one large chamber which Thorin and Dwalin shared; the fourth belonged to Balin; the fifth to Fili and Kili; the sixth was a storage chamber dedicated solely to ale and wine, with the addition of a few oddments; and the seventh door led to the attic (the part of the building where the roof began to slant).

The Hobbit crept soundlessly across the room, pressing his ear to each of the doors in turn: he heard nothing in his own, or in the next two, _or_ the one after that. He came to the fifth door - still nothing. Reaching the store-room, Bilbo froze.

Cocking his head to one side, he listened intently. There it came again - a muffled _crunch_ from inside the room. Bilbo rolled his eyes.

_"I should have known Ori would hide here," _muttered the Hobbit as he reached for the knob. With much speed and force he yanked the door open, quite startling the Dwarf inside and causing him to drop the bowl of chips he held. The unfortunate dish crashed to the floor, creating a small explosion of broken pottery as crunchy-crisps flew in all directions.

"Found you." The Hobbit grinned triumphantly.


End file.
